


Late

by neoculturetech



Category: GOT7
Genre: #5YearsWithJJProject, BNoir, M/M, jjproject
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-30
Updated: 2017-05-30
Packaged: 2018-11-06 18:42:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11042031
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neoculturetech/pseuds/neoculturetech
Summary: im jaebum gets home late. park jinyoung gets angry. im jaebum tries to make up for it by spoiling the love of his life.





	Late

**Author's Note:**

> this is the first ever work i'm going to be publishing @ AO3!! I hope it's not a let down. Hopefully you guys will like this. 
> 
> this is dedicated to the first ever bts/got7 mutual i ever made (actually, the FIRST mutual i made) who helped me with this story. Hi Alyssa!! this one's for you

“Jaebum. You said you’d be home early tonight.”

  
Jaebum rolled his eyes and types carelessly at his keyboard, holding his phone between his shoulder and his cheek. “Something came up. I’ll be there in a few hours.”

 

“It’s 8 PM. You’re not serious.”

“Oh no, I am very serious.”

“You’ve already done three hours of overtime!” Jaebum practically hear his boyfriend throw one of his hands into the air. “What the hell are you working for? Money? We have a lot of that, Jaebum.”

“I know,” He answers, putting his phone down on his desk and setting it on speaker. “But sometimes I can’t avoid these types of things.”

“You can’t avoid it two weeks in a row?” Jinyoung huffs. “Something’s up, Jaebum Im, and you can’t say I’m not right.”

“The meeting starts in fifteen minutes,” he looks at his wrist watch and shuts down his PC. “I’ll be home in two hours. I promise.”

“Two hours isn’t enough to compensate for the time you’ve missed with me for the past two weeks.”

“I love you,” Jaebum says, dragging out the word ‘you’. He grins at the thought of Jinyoung flustered.

“I am upset with you,” Jinyoung says instead of returning the I love you and hangs up. Jaebum looks at his phone questionably, trying to wonder why Jinyoung was so upset even though it was the least bit inconspicuous. He got up, gathered his things and headed into the conference room and waited for his other co-workers to take their seats and get started on the meeting.

—

As Jaebum drove home from work, he noticed that the night had gotten significantly darker compared to the past few nights. Not even the lampposts could illuminate more than two meters from where it stood.

As he pulled into the garage, he asked himself why all the lights were turned off despite Jinyoung being home. Secretly, Jaebum was praying that Jinyoung wasn’t as upset as he sounded earlier. He wasn’t nearly as scary as Jaebum when he was upset, but nonetheless, upsetting your boyfriend wasn’t a good thing to do.  
“Jinyoung?” he calls into the house as he walks in. “I’m home. Where are you?”

“Where am I?” The man’s head pops out of the kitchen. He looks angry. “Where were you?”

Jaebum wouldn’t admit it but his heart rate increased slightly. He set down his things on the kitchen counter and head his way to his lover. “Work,” He answers and opens his arms as he approaches Jinyoung. Jinyoung slaps his arms away and settles his hands on his hips, jaw clenched and expression shirty. For a few seconds all Jinyoung did was stare down at Jaebum, giving Jaebum time to really acknowledge his anger. Jinyoung releases a breath before saying, “Do you know why I’m angry?”

Jaebum purses his lips and nods, refusing to meet his lover’s eye.

“I don’t get why you keep on coming home late,” He leans back, setting himself on the kitchen counter and crosses his arms. “I mean, I get that you work . . . but Jaebum, you work five hours overtime. Why do you do that?”

“It’s not as if I don’t want to come home,” Jaebum says, “Sometimes I just have an extra load of work passed on to me. I can’t help it.”

“You could say no,” Jinyoung postulates.

“I’ve tried.”

Jaebum felt bad for lying to Jinyoung’s face like this. He knew that Jinyoung hated lying—or anything untrue, or leaving a detail on something out. He hoped he could mask the truth well enough for it to seem true.

Jinyoung had been complaining lately that he was tired of using his old, pre-loved car because of whatever reasons Jaebum couldn’t begin to think of. He saw Jinyoung eyeing a Mercedes-Benz three weeks ago, and Jaebum wouldn’t be satisfied with himself if he didn’t muster enough money to buy Jinyoung the car.

And he looked so in love with it too.

Jaebum just _had_ to get it.

“You obviously didn’t try hard enough,” Jinyoung shakes his head. “You’ve really upset me this time, Jaebum.”

Jinyoung walks away while saying, “There’s food for you at the table. I heated it up before you came home.”

At that moment, Jaebum knew he messed up.

He wished he had enough resolve in him to grab Jinyoung’s wrist and scream to his face he was working to buy him a new car, but he knew he could never have guts to do that.  
He wondered if the car was really worth sacrificing his time with Jinyoung—his closest friend, his lover, his missing piece. His other half. He thought about how Jinyoung still bothered to heat up the food for him even though he was angry at him, how Jinyoung never snapped at him like Jaebum did to him, about how Jinyoung was always trying to understand things from his point of view before starting an argument with him. He thought about Jinyoung’s kindness.

How lucky was he to have someone like Jinyoung in his life?

Sometimes Jaebum didn’t understand Jinyoung, but he still loved him with every fibre of his being.

And it made him angry how he had upset the man he loved the most. Maybe if it was because of something else, his anger could be diluted easily, but this time, knowing it was because of himself Jinyoung was angry...

He knew he couldn’t forgive himself that easily. Neither could Jinyoung.

He strode into the living room, the television radiating the light of black as nothing was playing on it. He places all of his focus on trying not to raise his blood pressure. He focused so much on him that when he heard a crunch beneath his feet, he jumped, startled. Jaebum looked down and saw the remains of a cassette tape, now severed and in pieces. Jaebum kneels down and examines it. _Who still kept cassette tapes nowadays?_

Upon further inspection of the area, he found more cassette tapes. He didn’t remember owning any . . . or bringing any once he moved in to this house, for that matter. Jaebum shook his head. _Doesn’t matter,_ he thinks to himself. _It’s old anyway. It should mean nothing by now._

He sits by the window and attempts at collecting his thoughts. He knew that Jinyoung was smart enough to figure out by now that he was working extra hours for money—why hadn’t he mentioned that further? Why didn’t he elaborate on that topic so that Jaebum could come clean and say, ‘Hey, surprise! I’m buying you a car?’ The weight of guilt was too much to bear on Jaebum’s shoulders.

Jaebum was tired of working everyday just so that he could buy the car for Jinyoung. He knew he had enough money—and more—to afford the car in a snap, but Jinyoung wouldn’t approve of how much it would cost and how much their bank balance would decrease after the purchase. The main reason why Jaebum was working extra hours for money is so that he could add just a little bit more to their balance so Jinyoung wouldn’t be as upset.

As Jaebum closes his eyes and calms himself down, Jinyoung walks into the room, holding his plate of dinner.

“Jaebum—” Jinyoung stops abruptly at the sight of the shattered cassette tape. In no rush, Jinyoung places the plate on the table and kneels down, holding the small pieces of it in his palm. “What..” he stammers, examining the bigger piece. It has the number _‘07’_ written on its side on paper tape. He looks up to Jaebum with wet eyes, looking as if he were about to cry. “Jaebum, did you do this?”

  
_That was Jinyoung’s?_ Jaebum begins to panic at the sight of Jinyoung crying. He walks on over to him and hugs him as he sobs. “I’m sorry,” Jaebum kisses his forehead and lets Jinyoung cry. “I’m sorry I stepped on that. I didn’t see it on the floor.”

“You’re _sorry_?” Jinyoung pushes him away, squinting in disbelief. “Do you know how precious this was to me?”

“No I don’t,” Jaebum sheepishly admits. He diverts his eyes from Jinyoung’s gaze. “What’s on it, anyway?”

“My first date!” Jinyoung shrieks, standing up. “That’s what on this tape. My first date with a girl, and on the other side, my second. Jaebum, this is practically treasure to me—”

“Why do you keep cassette tapes of people you’re not with anymore?”

“Cause they’re my firsts,” Jinyoung sobs. “you idiot! I can’t believe this—”

“They shouldn’t mean anything to you anymore.”

“And you should?”

Jinyoung saw the pain in his eyes. “I didn’t mean it like that. I’m sorry.”

“They shouldn’t mean to you anymore,” Jaebum stands up and takes the bigger piece from his hand and waves it in the air, his voice raised. “They aren’t in your life anymore! What are you doing keeping videos of people that won’t ever see you again?!”

“They were a part of my life, you idiot! And they were my first date! You know how important firsts are to me, Jaebum!”

“And I assume you have your first kiss on tape too!”

“As a matter of fact, I do!”

“Wow, Jinyoung,” Jaebum shoves the broken cassette tape into Jinyoung’s chest and crosses his arms. His eyes are blurry with tears. “You know what? Keeping those things makes me feel like I don’t mean anything to you.”

“I have more of you in my laptop than any of these cassette tapes combined,” Jinyoung murmurs. “And you feel like you don’t mean anything to me?  
“I didn’t move in with my first girlfriend,” He continues. “I didn’t discuss marriage with my first girlfriend. I don’t brag about my first girlfriend and swoon over him with my friends. My first girlfriend is nothing compared to you. I don’t get how you could even compare yourself to her.

“All I’m saying is that firsts are important to me, Jaebum,” Jinyoung looks down to the broken cassette tape in his hands. “And that—”

“I get that firsts are important to you,” Jaebum says. “but you should really consider the feelings of your significant other when you have those kinds of tapes.”

“If they shouldn’t mean anything to me anymore, all the more they shouldn’t mean anything to you.”  
Jaebum huffs. “Jinyoung, think about it!” He says, “It’s practically like keeping a picture of your ex while you have a boyfriend. It doesn’t make me feel good, Jinyoung.”

“She was a big part of my life too!”

“So am I!”

“Am I saying you aren’t?!”

“The tape’s making me feel like it.”

The man athwart from him tries not to sob. “Jaebum, please just think about this. She means nothing to me anymore. This is just a part of my life I want to remember.”

Jaebum wants to break down. He wants to run into Jinyoung’s arms and admit everything is his fault; he wants to admit that Jinyoung is always right, and that he can keep his tapes and his old girlfriend and everybody else that was in his past that he wanted to remember.  
Jaebum would give anything to turn time back and redo his mistakes. There was nothing more Jaebum wanted to do right now except end Jinyoung’s sadness.

Which was because of him.

But he didn’t see himself as wrong; it was kind of wrong to keep a video of your ex-girlfriend when you’re already with your new boyfriend. It made him feel insecure on a whole different level. Besides, wasn’t he sure his first girlfriend wasn’t meant to last? The majority of first relationships don’t ever work. That was how it was. If that were Jaebum, he would’ve chucked that tape into the trash a long time ago.

But then maybe Jaebum wasn’t thinking. Maybe Jaebum forgot that sometimes some things meant more to Jinyoung than Jaebum deemed it did.

“I’m sorry Jinyoung,” Jaebum shakes his head and pierces into Jinyoung’s wet eyes. “But that video wasn’t meant to be here.”  
A look of hurt blossoms on his face. Jinyoung’s breath builds up and even more tears stream down his face. He drops the cassette tape onto the floor and smashes it under his foot. He looks to Jaebum, eyes shot with blood and nose dripping with mucus. “I hope you’re happy now,” he says. He leaves the room and a few seconds later, Jaebum hears a bang of a door ring through the house.

He runs his hands through his hair, realizing his temerity had earned him the worst of treatment from Jinyoung. It was unprecedented to Jaebum how his lover could get that upset. At that point, Jinyoung was upset enough to be considered angry.

“I don’t get angry,” Jinyoung said one time after a fight, rubbing Jaebum’s back as he cried into his chest. “I only get upset. I could never get angry; I could never get angry at you.”

The night he said that made Jaebum realize how much Jinyoung loved him.

Jinyoung now knew all of Jaebum’s flaws—his bad temper, his constant eye-rolling, his volatile feelings—and loved him still. Even when Jaebum wasn’t at his best and couldn’t exactly act like himself, Jinyoung was there for him. Even if he got angry at him and raised his voice at him, Jinyoung still held him as if he was never going to let go. Jinyoung was so patient with him because he loved him that much. Sure, sometimes they’d fight, but that happened in every relationship.  
Jinyoung’s love was the kind of love that would imprint on you forever. The kind of love that surpassed all others.

And even though Jaebum wasn’t exactly on good terms with Jinyoung right now, he loved Jinyoung too much to let the night end with them on bad terms.

He loved Jinyoung so much more than he loved himself.

Jaebum sits down by the windowsill again and tries not to cry.

Just as he does, a wail rings through the house. It sounds muffled; a door was obviously covering it. Jinyoung was crying. Jinyoung never cried this loud.

It was at that time Jaebum knew he messed up.

Usually when they argued, Jinyoung would be the first one to approach him (just like he did a few minutes ago), but this time Jaebum wanted to be the one to hold his lover in his arms.

Jaebum’s tears were interminable once he heard Jinyoung’s cries. He cried and he sobbed and he wailed and he whispered maledictions to himself. He couldn’t take the guilt on his shoulders. He couldn’t handle Jinyoung’s sadness, because after all—Jinyoung’s sadness was his sadness too.

The sky cries with him. The rain hits the window with calm, piquant pats.

The rain always calmed Jaebum down. He liked the sound of rain. It sounded like a promise of safety and comfort. He calms down.

After a few minutes of crying, Jaebum wipes his tears with his tears and climbs up his stairs slowly, his heart racing. He hopes he isn’t too late to apologize to him.  
The door creaks as he pushes it open. Jinyoung is lying down on the bed, stomach down, his face buried into their pillows. He lifts his head to look at who entered the room and sees Jaebum. His face scrunches up into a frown and he gets up to walk to him, and he opens his arms. Jaebum is the first one to wrap his arms around Jinyoung. Jaebum sheds a few tears.He leads Jinyoung to their bed and they both plop onto it, Jinyoung running over Jaebum, moistening his shoulder with his tears. Jaebum kisses his temples and whispers nothings into Jinyoung’s ear, hoping it would comfort him. He repeats kissing him until Jinyoung calms down.

“I love you,” Jaebum says after a kiss. “I’m sorry,” Jaebum says after a kiss. “I love you,” he repeats. “I’m sorry,” he repeats.

“I’m sorry Jaebum,” his lover wails, crumpling the back of his shirt into a fist. “I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have to say sorry if it’s not your fault, baby,” he murmurs and kisses him again. “Don’t say sorry. Don’t apologize.”

“I love you,” Jinyoung says, and Jaebum knows he means it.

“I love you so much more,” Jaebum holds him tighter.

Soon after the room grows quiet. Jaebum pats Jinyoung’s back to see if he was still awake. He pulls his chin towards his neck to get a better view of Jinyoung’s face. It seems as if Jinyoung had fallen asleep.

Jaebum kisses his boyfriend’s forehead and falls asleep too.

—

Jaebum wakes up significantly earlier than Jinyoung.

He showers and puts on a plain white shirt, blue jeans and some boots. He grabs a black cardigan and kisses Jinyoung goodbye, even though he was still asleep. _Running a few errands_ , Jaebum wrote on a sticky note and stuck it to his forehead. _I’ll be back with Wendy’s._

Jaebum wasn’t actually running errands—he planned to make it up to Jinyoung in ways he hasn’t really tried before. He figured the risk was worth it—he had to try.

Jaebum’s first stop was the flower shop. He got four stargazers and some orchids because he knew Jinyoung despised anything plain and basic: dandelions, roses, sunflowers, the common like. Jinyoung liked orchids and stargazers. He loved putting stargazers in a vase and making them tabletop ornaments. As for orchids he let them grow on the tree they had in their backyard.

After that he heads into the grocery to do some shopping—he planned to make breakfast. He didn’t know what Jinyoung would like for breakfast (because he cooks something different everyday) so he gets a whole variety ranging from vegetables to meat. He pays and leaves.

Last stop was the nearest Mercedes-Benz dealer. You could probably guess what he did there.

 _‘You liked that Mercedes in black, right?’_ He texts Jinyoung. He didn’t know if he was awake or not. But he replies.

 _‘Yes. Why?’_ Jaebum knew that Jinyoung knew what he was doing. He just didn’t want to think he was doing it.

_‘I saw a toy car version of it. I got it for you.’_

_‘Oh. That’s sweet. Thank you, Jaebum. Please come back home now with my Wendy’s, I’m getting hungry’_

Jaebum shakes hands with the agent and shoves his card into his pockets. _‘Yes, baby, I’m on my way home.’_

 

“It’s about time you got home, Mr. I-Get-Home-Late,” Jinyoung says as he greets Jaebum at the door. He gives Jaebum a toothy grin and pulls his face into a kiss. “My god, I love you so much.”

“I love you more,” Jaebum replies and they head inside. Jaebum places the groceries into the kitchen and sets down the flowers. “Oh, you got flowers?” Jinyoung chirps as he picks up the bouquet. “Are these for me?”

“Yes, of course.”

Jinyoung grins and looks into the kitchen cabinets for his favourite vase. He fills it with water and puts the stargazers in, setting them on the center of the table. He goes out with the orchids.

As he is outside, Jaebum tries to make breakfast, but fails.

Jinyoung questions him when he gets back inside. “Didn’t you get me Wendy’s?”

“I did,” Jaebum points to the paper bag on the counter. “But then I wanted to cook breakfast for you too.”

Jinyoung’s eyes widen and form into crescents as he smiles, the wrinkles beneath them beginning to appear. “Jaebum!” He exclaims and hugs him from the back. “You don’t have to do that for me. I can cook breakfast.”

“Hey,” Jaebum calls and tries to fold the omelette successfully. He does. “Just so you won’t kick me...”

“Jaebum,” Jinyoung rests his head on his shoulder. “What did you do?”

“Promise me you won’t get mad.”

“That depends, idiot.”

“...I got you that Mercedes-Benz you were eyeing the other day,” Jaebum says. “Which kind of explains all the overtime work I’ve been doing.” He hears Jinyoung gasp and Jinyoung spanks his back, grinning.

“You didn’t.”

“I did,” Jaebum smiles. “It’s coming next week.”

“JAEBUM, YOU’RE NOT SERIOUS—!!”

“Oh, but I am!”

“Ugh, oh my God,” He puts his face into his hands and starts to sob. Jaebum panics again and pulls him into a hug. “You’re so stupid! Why would you do that? I love you so much, Jaebum, you don’t even know.”

Jaebum finds it funny how he insults him before saying he loves him. He holds Jinyoung tighter against him and kisses his cheek.

Jinyoung pulls his face away from his and kisses his lips. Pure love was the only way to describe this—not ‘lips colliding’ or ‘lips smashing against each others’ or whatever. Jaebum wipes Jinyoung’s tears away and smiles into the kiss. He could never love a man the way he loved Jinyoung.

“Jaebum,” Jinyoung grins and places his forehead against his. “I love you so much, but your eggs are burning.”

“It’s because I’m so hot.”

“Yeah, too hot that our house might burn down.”

“Jinyoung!”

**Author's Note:**

> this was really emotionally draining for me to write. I hope whoever read this enjoyed my pain


End file.
